In a two-part column published on the Catholic Culture blog, conservative journalist Phil Lawler declared, “I quit … I can’t do it anymore.”
The “it” to which Lawler refers is “reporting and writing about scandal within the Catholic Church.” He went on to clarify:
“The scandal” in the Church is actually three related scandals: the scandal of sexual abuse of children by priests; the scandal of widespread homosexual influence in the clergy; and the scandal of bishops who are more interested in protecting their positions than in defending the faith.
Having read Lawler’s entire valediction, it is clear that he is fixated on sexual scandal. It is as if he is blindfolded to the fundamental and far greater problem; namely, the post-conciliar doctrinal and liturgical crises.
“I’ve spent 25 years studying how the Church got into this mess,” writes Lawler.
In that period of time alone, more than two-thousand parishes in the United States have closed, and the homo-clerical scandal is far from the primary cause; rather, it is because much of what has been presented to us as “the Church” – not just in the U.S., but globally – is barely recognizable as Catholic from either a doctrinal, moral or liturgical standpoint.
Good intentions aside, Phil Lawler provides a shining example of the mindset that I described in an article of last year:
I would argue that the current homo-clerical moral crisis never would have reached such depths had the doctrinal crisis inaugurated at Vatican Council II not happened first. The mere suggestion is beyond consideration in the minds of most neo-conservatives, who, among other things, have been anesthetized into complacency by a combination of the “hermeneutic of continuity” deception and a form of ultramontanism that effectively places the pope beyond any meaningful doctrinal reproach – most notably as it concerns John Paul II.
Given that Lawler is unable or unwilling to identify the actual problem at hand, it comes as little surprise that his thoughts concerning the remedy are likewise off-base. Speaking directly to bishops and cardinals about their “sacred duty,” he writes:
To restore the Church, you must first restore your own credibility. Drop the damage-control approach. Stop fearing the truth, start telling it, and demand that others do the same. Face the fact that right now, the credibility of Catholic bishops ranks somewhere between that of used-car salesmen and telemarketers—and with reason! And you are charged with the duty of proclaiming the Gospel, carrying on the mission of the Apostles, introducing the world to the Word. You must make the elimination of corruption, the restoration of credibility, your top priority. If you don’t nothing else that you do will matter.
The above will likely strike many as perfectly sound, but let us consider:
Q: Even if every single bishop takes Lawler’s advice and ceases doing damage-control, starts telling the truth about the scandal, and makes the elimination of corruption and the restoration of their own credibility their top priority, what would remain?
A: An earthbound quasi-political social justice organization that is working hand-in-hand with the United Nations and other enemies of Christ the King toward the establishment of a One-World government and One-World religion based upon the tenets of humanism. (NOTE: This description of Modernist Rome predates the Bergoglian occupation by some six decades.)
In other words, “the restoration of the credibility of the Catholic Church” that Lawler identified as his “top priority” won’t be brought even one inch closer to fruition thanks to his efforts. Though it evidently eludes him, the reason is simple:
The “gospel” proclaimed by the hierarchs of the conciliar church is little more than secular humanism deceptively dressed-up in religious verbiage; it is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nor is the mission of the conciliar church the one that Our Lord entrusted to His Church – this being precisely how scandal came to permeate the institution in the first place.
In fact, we can say (along with +Archbishop Lefebvre) that the institution that has been operating out of Rome for the past six or so decades, presenting itself to the world as the Catholic Church, is a counterfeit.
Sadly, Phil Lawler, like so many other conservatives, has bought into the deception hook, line and sinker; writing in conclusion, “Of this much I am quite sure: The leadership in reform will come from the Catholic laity.”
Sorry, Phil, that’s not the Church established by Christ. Leadership in His Church comes from the top down, starting with Himself; His authority made present and visible in the person of the Roman Pontiff, His Vicar, to whom He has given full power to tend, rule and govern the Universal Church.
The laity can no more lead the way in fixing the present crisis than a toddler can restore order to his childhood home when mom and dad are off on a drunken sabbatical. The best we can do is to labor for personal sanctity while warning our brothers and sisters about the evil of their elders; pointing the way to safety to the extent that we are able.
“Somehow our bishops must be shocked out of their complacency, compelled to recognize the crisis, convinced to purge the corruption from within their own ranks,” Lawler insists, his frustration clearly palpable.
“And somehow,” he continues, “we, the loyal Catholic laity, must do the shocking, the compelling, the convincing, the demanding.”
As of yet, unfortunately, Lawler himself does not recognize the crisis. Last year, however, there were some hopeful signs that his awareness may be growing. In his book, Lost Shepherd: How Pope Francis is Misleading His Flock, he wrote:
I did my best to provide assurance – for my readers and sometimes for myself – that, despite his sometimes alarming remarks, Francis was not a radical, was not leading the Church away from the ancient sources of the Faith. But gradually, reluctantly, I came to the conclusion that he was … I found I could no longer pretend that Francis was merely offering a novel interpretation of Catholic doctrine. No, it was more than that. He was engaged in a deliberate effort to change what the Church teaches.
What Lawler fails (or refuses) to acknowledge is that Francis is not the first hireling to mislead the flock; that operation has been well underway for more than sixty years.
In conclusion, Phil Lawler seems to be a sincere man who is slowly coming to the realization that the corrupt, scandal-ridden institution headquartered in Rome, as well as the men who are leading it – up to and including Jorge Bergoglio – have no genuine interest in carrying out the mission that Christ gave to His Church. Indeed, none of them – the institution included – are truly Catholic.
Let us pray for him, that his eyes may one day be opened to the point where he will write:
I did my best to provide assurance – for my readers and sometimes for myself – that, despite its alarming propositions, Vatican II was not radical, was not leading the Church away from the ancient sources of the Faith. But gradually, reluctantly, I came to the conclusion that it was … I found I could no longer pretend that the Council was merely offering a novel interpretation of Catholic doctrine. No, it was more than that. It was a deliberate effort to change what the Church teaches.
Phil, you’re in good company, Peter said something similar when our Lord directed his attention elsewhere. I pray you listen as did Peter.
The laity is just as incapable of reforming the church since they are practically all modernists themselves. On the question of contraception alone, the polls show us how small the number is of Novus Ordites who may still hold the Catholic Faith. Trads need to recognize this sad fact. The vast majority of those going to Novus Ordo worship services are no longer Catholic. That goes for the clergy as well. To stay inside that false structure thinking one will influence the others back to tradition is ludicrous. They don’t want tradition. Its much too inconvenient for them.
I live across the street from a Bogus Disordo parish. I haven’t attended a Bogus Disordo for nine years. After assisting at the actual Catholic Mass last Sunday, I decided to drop in and observe the Bogus Disordo that had just started being committed across the street. The whole scene was even more foreign than I remembered it being; it was a thoroughly feminized, sickly sentimental mess populated by bovine slobs. Yes, this impoverished laity inspired no confidence whatsoever. Such is the wreckage spawned by the Judas Council.
Everyone will probably get there sooner or later, Mr. Lawler included. The time of reasonable denial has ended. It is bad to have a Communist/Humanist pope, it is far worse to have complicit clergy, as we have. It took most of us a few years just to accept that nobody was stepping out from the shadows to really call him out, they still haven’t. I admire the few who have gotten close, but it’s not close enough until he is named as an apostate and the flock is warned to avoid him as anathema. I do not think anyone will do it. So here we are in 2019, with Catholic teaching and tradition in tatters, being told to embrace paganism in the Amazon.
Actually, we see this as a cake he is building, a Communist cake with Pagan Frosting. He’s really after the “share everything in common” bit. He wants communism to catch on because he loves communism. I feel confident saying that because his best buds are those, he visits those nations and heaps praise, he appoints and elevates those, he yammers about it endlessly, he even allowed someone close to say communists are the best example now of catholic social teaching, or some similar nonsense. He sold out the Chinese Catholics to it and fails to see their suffering, praised Cuba. Communism is a godless ideology of course.
It all makes sense, really. The grandpa priests, lady deacons, sex with Amazon children, cultural suicide, drugs, these are all just happy artifacts, the real goal for him is Communism and for the world to sign on.
Mainstream Catholics are sleeping, they sleep because they just can’t handle the truth that is staring them in the face.
“Mainstream Catholics are sleeping…”
But then the question arises as to just what “Catholics” are. Aren’t they supposed to be blessed because they are poor in spirit, meek, mourning in this land of exile (i.e. the world), hungering and thirsting after justice, merciful, clean of heart, peacemakers, suffering persecution for justice’s sake? Does anybody find the crowd at the Sunday Novus Ordo Love Fest to be like that?
Mainstream Catholics….are not Catholic. Those that are Catholic are waking up or have been woken up for years now. Those that don’t wake up in the near future probably won’t. I do think that a couple of things need to first: death of Ratzinger; election of the Francis II.
Reminds me of this song:
Asleep in the Light
https://youtu.be/7XeEL0mRBHo
Ironically, he was mired in the darkness of Protestantism.
Mr Lawler is nice and well meaning. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know. The Modernist Vatican2 Church he is attending and defending is not the Catholic Church of its’ founder Jesus Christ. He may as well wait for pigs to fly before this mess will be fixed by an indoctrinated laity…
Agree. The great majority of so called Catholics embrace contraception. It looks as though the saying that the gates of heaven are narrow is showing to be making sense indeed.
Actually I think one can find so called traditionalists who are weak on the doctrine of contraception also. It is not exclusive to NovusOrdos.
“The leadership in reform will come from the Catholic laity.”
While we could give him the benefit of the doubt in that statement saying maybe he meant a Cluny type reform, or a St. Catherine of Siena will rise up, it won’t be something that comes from a pope or any bishops. Yet what he does not understand is many hens have risen up and started to gather the brood, but the hens have been prevented from gathering the brood, just as Jesus said would happen! The laity are ignorant, undisciplined groomed to have itchy ears for fables and not sound doctrine, as St. Paul said. The Church will be preserved in a few cottages around the world, not reformed by a few cottages around the world! God’s going to give the weeds everything they desire to kill Holy Mother Church, yet she won’t die, because in the end, they are not triumphalists!
Might I remind you, 2V, Sedevantists are not Catholic.
::yawn::
When one compromises on marriage and the marital act and their purposes, one has strayed from God and the Holy Faith. Marriage in its holy essence flows from Faith (and the truth of natural marriage from natural reason).
The Holy Faith cannot change one iota, ever. As God, all Love, Truth, Knowledge and Power, cannot change.
Is this site a sedevacante site? The author clearly writes as one
And might I remind you, Fleur, that modernists are not Catholic.
No, the author does not write as a “sedevacantist”, rather as a realist who is searching, as all good Catholics are today, for the Church Christ founded. And sadly, he is becoming aware, as all good Catholics are, that the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church is not the same as the Vatican II Conciliar abomination.
While I’m waiting for the triumphal re-ascendance of the Church Christ founded (which may not occur until Judgement Day) I say 15 decades/day. It’s made all the difference for me. I hope, and I have my Catholic Faith.
Seems like youre writing as a sede as well!
“Seems like youre[sic] writing as a sede as well.” Seems like you’re presented with an opportunity to contribute to my comment about living our Catholic faith in these days when the true Church has been driven down into the catacombs—i.e. my comment was intended to give other Catholics hope–and you resort to name calling. Sede? Really? How do you know this? Oh wait—you wrote “Seems like…” Why are you here on this blog, “stmatthew”? Is it that you want to give your insight and comfort to those of us who are suffering because the forces of hell have usurped the rightful leadership of the Church? Or is it that you have some sort of axe to grind so as to pacify your ego?
Thank you very much for this article! Especially the part about the laity being responsible for fixing all the corruption in church and restoring the faith. I agree that other than prayer, we are pretty helpless. We can’t start in Inquisition. We can’t depose Bergoglio. And with 7 out of 10 Catholics not going to mass on Sundays, and disbelieving in the Real Presence even if they do go…well, I wouldn’t count on laity to restore anything. It will take Blessed Mother and Jesus to fix it.
No he’s not a sede. And if you looked at NovusOrdoWatch you’d know they dislike him over there.
Nothing like as many. The average Trad Cath has 4 or 5 children. The average No’er 2 or less. Birth rate in Portugal for example is the lowest in Europe and third lowest in the world.
Trads have some MASSIVE families of 13 or 14. Extremely rare to find that in the Novus Ordo world.
My father had 9 children. 7 of us married and had 56 children between us. I have a sister who has 15 children.
My niece and nephew’s generation is now popping babies out at one every 2 months, so my father has 104 people with his DNA in them and he is 87 years old. We all practice the faith.
Find me a family in the Novus Ordo who can do the same.
Not so sure Mary Regina.
If Hong Kongers and French Yellow vestors can protest, then why can’t we?
There have to be 10 million Trads and hardline conservatives worldwide at least. We live in rich countries. Many of us get 4 weeks off work. We each sacrifice our family holidays in 2020 and go to St. Peter’s Square for a week and camp there like gypsies until Francis resigns or throws himself off the balcony.
Organise a rota system. Mass every 3 hours, Rosary, singing and chanting. 1 million people divided by 52 weeks is 20,000 people constantly in St. Peter’s Square in Rome for a year. Bring a sleeping bag and use a tent someone else vacates. If you cannot go them pay someone else’s airfare who can.
Vatican is sovereign territory. The Italian cops under Salvini ain’t going to beat us up. Salvini would probably give us free pizza and police protection.
We could do something. We just won’t because we are lazy.